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Congratulations to Rachelle and Scott Weir, you’ve each won a pair of VIP tickets to the Gourmet Food and Wine Expo on November 14! Look out for an email from emailusawesome@gmail.com so we can make arrangements to get the tickets to you.

For those unlucky souls still pining for some opening night tickets, you’re in luck! Robyn and I will each be giving away an additional pair of tickets via twitter before the big night. Follow us at @kellylsinclair and @wilsonrobyn and stay tuned for your chance to win!

This blog aims to celebrate the awesome, the unique, the creative, the positive, and the beautiful that surrounds us. It is also very much an ode to our beloved city; no matter how far we travel and and yearn to run away and rave about cities like San Francisco and Buenos Aires, Toronto is home and number one in our hearts.

While reading the Editor’s Letter in Issue 7 of PRODUCT magazine written by Editor-in-Chief and self-titled “Cultural Curator” Kyle Kofsky it became very evident that PRODUCT and For the Love of Awesome are clearly in pursuit of similar goals. Kyle describes the magazine’s mission as profiling the lives of Torontonians who have found success while choosing to live positively and to better their own lives and the lives of those around them, whatever their backgrounds and pursuits.

I have to admit that after compiling a list of my favorite brunch spots in Toronto last year, I reverted back to my kitchen on weekends to make my own omelets and smoothies for quite some time. I was uninspired by a lot of the menus I was seeing and felt that brunch was becoming a pricey endeavor for food I could make at home, and healthier at that.

I’ve chosen wisely lately and have some new brunch recommendations where the food is creative, delicious, fairly healthy and pretty exciting! Most of these places are using local, in-season produce which means that as we dive into fall you can expect decadent squashes and greens to fill your plate and your tummy, prepared in ways you have never imagined or tasted.

Beast: This restaurant has become a staple for me, whether for dinner or for brunch. For coffee lovers, you get to pick your coffee bean and will be brought your own personal Bodum with a timer to ensure your pot is steeped to perfection. Start out your meal with the best doughnut you will ever eat by pastry chef Rachelle (Dough Toronto) – particularly the browned butter doughnut (although, did I just read about coffee icing with salted hazelnuts?!). Your meal can be as adventurous as you’d like it to be, but what Chef and owner Scott Vivian does best is meat, so I recommend getting out of your comfort zone a bit and trying something new, like the corned beef tongue scramble, served with gruyere and garlic scape pesto and house-made buttermilk biscuit.

Gilead Cafe: Jamie Kennedy’s cafe is hidden away down an alley-way off of King St., just east of Parliament and is only open for brunch on Sundays. The menu is eclectic and fancy, and won’t have you spending a fortune to sample the eats of this celebrated Torontonian chef. The seasonal tarts, french toasts, salads, eggs, hashes and sandwiches change week-to-week and everything is made in-house. If you’re looking for bacon and eggs, I’d steer clear, but if you’re open to an unexpected pop of blue cheese in your quiche or had a rough night and a braised beef breakfast poutine is all you can think about, this is the place for you.

Summer is over and it’s nippy out. TIFF is done. Your summer holidays are now a distant memory. Wah Wah.

I know it’s tempting to divide up your week by TV shows. It’s tempting to run home after work and throw on your sweats and commence hibernation a bit early because the grey days make for grey moods. Please don’t! Take a dose of that vitamin D and take advantage of the exciting things going on. This is prime touring season for your favorite bands, many of which have released new albums. We’ve also got a couple of new venues in the city with state-of-the-art sound systems that are begging for your attention (particularly: Adelaide Music Hall, Black Box Theatre, Montauk Bar).

The list of shows coming to town can be overwhelming for anyone. Below, my top recommendations and I promise there’s something for everyone from broody to danceable:

Austra. Sept. 27, Phoenix, $25. Their latest album has been on repeat in my home. Be prepared to dance and be mesmerized.

DIANA. Sept. 26, Great Hall, $10. This is what I would call their great launch. Fresh of the heels of opening for Tegan & Sara, you’ll never see them for $10 again, I promise you.

Local Natives / Wild Nothing. Sept. 21, Kool Haus, $29. My most anticipated show of the fall – two awesome bands on one bill. Wild Nothing haven’t been in town in ages (except maybe to film the video below featuring indie darling Michelle Williams riding the Maid of the Mist in Niagara Falls!), and Local Natives never disappoint live.

The Weeknd. Oct. 17, 19 & 20, Massey Hall, $45 – $75. As if he wasn’t able to seduce us with his lyrics and voice alone, Abel Tesfaye has got a 3-night engagement at the great Massey Hall. It should be just perfect. Hey, maybe hometown hero Drake will surprise us with an appearance to support his protege?

This summer has been ridiculously busy for both Kelly and I. We capped off the end of the season with an amazing, debaucherous weekend with our friends at Two Islands Weekend (and for future years, this is an event not to be missed!). After a week of TIFF films, things may settle down a little come next week (well.. maybe not for Kelly who’s knee deep in wedding planning). I am excited to start having some downtime in the city again and start exploring and sharing my new-found awesomeness.

My explorations in the art world will start with the help of My City Muse. The newly launched app for your iPhone (coming soon for Androids) is a dream for fine art lovers in Toronto, Montreal, San Francisco and New York, with more cities to be added. The app was created by Sean Green, a University of Toronto Engineering alum and self-professed newbie to the art world.